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# What is Playback Mode?

**Playback Mode** is Scriptation 6.0's unified way to hear your script, rehearse your lines, and record self-tapes — all from a single mode and a single control bar. It replaces what used to be three separate modes: Read, Rehearse, and Record.

|| 📝 NOTE: If you're on **Scriptation 5.1.16** or earlier, this consolidated mode doesn't exist yet. See [What is Read Mode?](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/what-is-read-mode-r2rpf5/), [What is Rehearse Mode?](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/what-is-rehearse-mode-107qb0c/), or [What is Record Mode?](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/what-is-record-mode-1rphrli/) for the version of these features that ships with your app.

### Starting Playback

1. **Touch** or **click** the **Playback** icon on the [Top Toolbar](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/an-overview-of-the-top-toolbar-i5y1y8/) to enter Playback Mode;

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/6/0/8/1/60818aeea8717000/toptoolbarplaybackpng_1xiglih.png =700x47)

| ✅ TIP: If the **Playback** icon isn't showing in the Top Toolbar, touch or click the plus sign on the right side to show additional icons. To pin it permanently, see [More Icons and Customizing the Top Toolbar](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/more-icons-and-customizing-the-top-toolbar-v1u97a/).

2. The annotation tools disappear and Scriptation's **Playback control bar** appears at the bottom of the screen.

Playback presents your script in a clean, customizable view. Scriptation extracts the text from your script so you can adjust the font type and size, filter out script elements you don't need (like Action Lines or Parentheticals), and either listen to the script read aloud or have it scroll along with you during a performance.

### The Playback Control Bar

On the control bar you'll find everything you need to read, rehearse, or record:

* **Rehearse button** (theater masks icon) — opens the Rehearse menu to pick your character and configure rehearsal options ([Set up a rehearsal](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/how-do-i-set-up-a-rehearsal-1uyndsh/));
* **Speed slider** — adjusts playback speed for both audio readback and silent scrolling (slide left to slow down, right to speed up);
* **Record toggle** — activates your device's camera and recording functions ([Record a self-tape](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/how-do-i-record-a-self-tape-audition-1fpb5b6/));
* **Sliders icon** — opens the [Playback Presets](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/what-are-playback-presets-z550d6/) popover (Table Read, All On, Rehearsal, Teleprompter, or Custom);
* **Play / pause / skip** controls — start, stop, and navigate playback;
* **Waveform icon** — opens the Voices panel for character voice assignment ([basic voices](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/how-do-i-use-basic-voices-for-playback-xoexly/) or [AI Voices](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/how-do-i-use-premium-ai-voices-for-playback-zic7cr/));

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/6/0/8/1/60818aeea8717000/playbackcontrolspng_1b0nmyh.png =500x148)

### Reading Your Script Aloud

For a straightforward read-aloud, choose a preset and press play.

1. **Touch** the sliders icon to open the **Playback Presets** popover;
2. Choose a preset like **Table Read** or **All On** — see [Playback Presets](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/what-are-playback-presets-z550d6/) for the full list;
3. Press **Play**.

| ✅ TIP: For natural-sounding character voices, pair Playback with [AI Voices](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/how-do-i-use-premium-ai-voices-for-playback-zic7cr/).

### Voices

When you enter Playback, Scriptation automatically assigns the basic offline voices already downloaded on your device to each character, distributing as many different voices as it can. You can press **Play** and hear a multi-voice readback right away — no setup required.

To fine-tune individual voice assignments, **touch** the **waveform icon** on the control bar to open the **Voices panel**. For the full walkthrough of changing voices, languages, and speaking rates for each character, see [How do I use basic voices for Playback?](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/how-do-i-use-basic-voices-for-playback-xoexly/).

| ✅ TIP: The fastest way to change a single character's voice or line speed mid-session is the character's **three-dot menu** (**⋯**) next to their name in the script. It opens a two-option popover: **Voice** (jumps straight to that character's voice page) and **Line speed** (adjusts the character's speaking rate). 

For a better readback experience:

* Download **Enhanced** or **Premium** offline voices from Apple — see [Are there better Playback voices available?](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/are-there-better-playback-voices-available-wbbvl2/) — for the best offline experience;
* Upgrade to [AI Voices](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/how-do-i-use-premium-ai-voices-for-playback-zic7cr/) for the most natural-sounding readback overall;
* To save your voice assignments for reuse across future scripts, see [How do I save and reuse character voices across scripts?](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/how-do-i-save-and-reuse-character-voices-across-scripts-vmmont/).

### Playback Settings

To fine-tune your Playback experience, **touch** the **gear icon** in the top-right corner of the Playback view to open the **Playback Settings** tab. From here, you can customize Display options (font type, size, overlay), Auto-Highlight, Rehearse, and Record settings.

For a full walkthrough of every Playback setting, see the [Playback section of An Overview of the Settings Menu](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/an-overview-of-the-settings-menu-1v2uicm/).

### Setting up a Rehearsal

|| 📝 NOTE: Rehearse is an [Industry Pro](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/what-is-scriptation-industry-pro-1jfjecg/) feature.

The **Rehearse button** (the theater masks icon) on the control bar opens the **Rehearse menu**, where you can pick the character you're rehearsing as, turn on Auto-Highlight, and configure Cue mode, Line Reminders, and Loop — all in one place.

For the full walkthrough, see [How do I set up a rehearsal?](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/how-do-i-set-up-a-rehearsal-1uyndsh/).

| 💡 TIP: Choosing the **Rehearsal preset** from the sliders icon adjusts what's *shown and read* on the page (hiding Action Lines and reading only Dialogue) — separate from the Rehearse menu, which picks *which character* you're rehearsing as. Most rehearsal sessions use both together.

### Recording a Self-Tape

|| 📝 NOTE: Record is an [Industry Pro](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/what-is-scriptation-industry-pro-1jfjecg/) feature.

The **Record toggle** on the control bar activates your device's camera and recording functions. Flip it on, configure your record settings (video preview, camera, slate countdown, record countdown) from the **Playback Settings** tab, then press the **red Record button** to start.

For the full walkthrough — including pairing record with rehearsal for a self-tape audition — see [How do I record a self-tape audition?](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/how-do-i-record-a-self-tape-audition-1fpb5b6/).

| 💡 TIP: Want to record yourself rehearsing a specific character? Use the **Rehearse button** to pick your character *first*, then flip the **Record toggle** on. You'll get a self-tape where Scriptation reads the other characters and pauses for your lines.

### Troubleshooting Uninterrupted Playback

If playback pauses or seems to "freeze" mid-script, it's usually a settings issue rather than a real freeze:

* If a **character is selected** in the Rehearse menu (character selector set to a specific character or **Multiple**), Scriptation treats those characters as being read live by a person and skips their lines. If **Cue Mode** is set to **On Voice**, playback will then pause and wait for those lines to be spoken before continuing — which can look like it's stuck.
* To have the whole script read straight through without stopping: open the **Playback Presets** (sliders icon) and choose **Table Read**, then open the **Rehearse** menu (theater-masks icon) and **uncheck any selected characters**. Press play again.
* The **Playback speed slider** currently tops out at **2x** — there isn't a way to go beyond that at this time.
* There isn't currently a way to hide or toggle off the Playback control bar for a true full-screen view; the control bar stays visible during playback.
* If Playback gets stuck on "Please Wait...Loading audio" for more than a minute, try fully restarting your device and running a Layer Optimization on the script to slim it down — see [Scriptation is running slowly or crashing](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/scriptation-is-running-slowly-or-crashing-1rhml2h/). If it still hangs after that, send a screen recording of the issue through the [Troubleshooting Portal](https://scriptation.com/troubleshooting/).
* If playback skips pages (like a cold open or the first page of a script), check the **Playback Preset**: **Table Read** skips Cover Pages. Switch to **All On** to read every page including covers, or choose **Custom** and set Cover Pages to "View and voice."
* If Playback shows the title and controls but no text at all, the script is likely a **flattened (image-only) PDF** with no real text layer for Playback to read. Run the file through OCR (Adobe Acrobat's free tool or Preview on Mac both add a text layer) and re-import it.

See [What are Playback Presets?](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/what-are-playback-presets-z550d6/) and [How do I set up a rehearsal?](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/how-do-i-set-up-a-rehearsal-1uyndsh/) for more on Cue Mode and character selection.

### Exiting Playback

To leave Playback Mode and return to annotating, **touch** the **down caret** (**⌄**) in the top-left corner of the screen.

# What's Next

[What are Playback Presets?](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/what-are-playback-presets-z550d6/)
[How do I use premium AI Voices for Playback?](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/how-do-i-use-premium-ai-voices-for-playback-zic7cr/)
[How do I save and reuse character voices across scripts?](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/how-do-i-save-and-reuse-character-voices-across-scripts-vmmont/)
[Are there better Playback voices available?](https://help.scriptation.com/en/article/are-there-better-playback-voices-available-wbbvl2/)